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Two Colonsls 



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John Taylor. 




Hunterdon Historical Scries, No. 2. 



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Qass /Z Z6 3 



TIIP] TAVO 



COLONELS JOHN TAYLOR, 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



By Henry Race, IVI. 13. 



y 



FLEMINGTON, N^^5509 

H. K. Deals, 



1892. 



G. W. Burroughs, 

Book and Job Printer, 

cranburv, n. j. 



f;n the War of the Revolution there were 
I two John Taylors with the rank of Col- 
onel belonging to the Militia of the Colony 
of New Jersey, one in the Second Middlesex 
Regiment and the other in the Fourth Hun- 
terdon. 

Col. John Taylor, of Middlesex, 

Was born August i, 1751. He was the only 
vSon of Jacob Taylor, of Amboy, N. J., (born 
Nov. 22, 1729, died in Dec, 1776,) and Rachel, 
daughter of John Potter, of Springfield, N. 
J. His grandfather was John Taylor, of 
Hawes, Bedfordshire, England, (born 16SS,) 
who immigrated to this country in 1739 and 
settled on the Raritan. 

At the age of 19, (1770,) Col. John Taylor 
3 



graduated from Princeton College, N. J., and 
shortly after moved to New Brunswick on 
the invitation of the Trustees of Queen's 
(now Rutgers) College, and was elected to a 
professorship in that institution, which posi- 
tion he filled till 1795. He married, in lySr, 
Jeannette Fitz-Randolph, of Woodbridge, N. 
J. The}' had three children, Augustus R., 
M. D., of New Brunswick, born Ma}^ 27, 
] 782 ; John and Mary. 

At the beginning of the Revolution he was 
chosen a Captain in Col. Neilson's battalion 
of " Minute Men," enlisted for service wher- 
ever required, and held ready to march at a 
moment's notice. August 16, 1776, he was 
appointed First Major; and June 6, 1777, 
Lieut. Colonel in Col. Neilson's 2nd Regi- 
ment of Middlesex Militia. In 1779 he was 
ist Colonel of the New Jersey State Regi- 
ment. 

During the war his time appears to have 
been divided between his duties as a patriot 
and Colonel of a militia regiment and those 
4 



pertaining to his professorship. In a letter 
to Governor Livingston, dated "North 
Branch of Raritan, Sept. 25, 1779," he wrote : 
"Sir: It was m}^ intention to have in- 
closed a return of the number of officers who 
have joined the State Regiment from each 
county ; and also the deficiencies of each, 
but not having been able to get the reports 
of the several companies soon enough, owing 
to their separate stations, and the necessity 
of attending the examination of the students 
of Queen's College, I have, at prCvSent, 
omitted making such a return, but shall 
transmit it, together with the state of the 
regiment, as soon as possible. * * ^ * 
^ * * ^ ^ His Excellency will also 
recollect that I informed him that I was pre- 
viously engaged by the trustees of Queen's 
College, and that it was with great difficulty 
that I was able to leave the business of the 
College until the vacation. -^ ^ * * •«• 
The trustees of Queen's College insisting 
upon my fulfilling my engagements, I hope 
5 



I shall be discharged from the rcg"inicnt as 
soon as possible. ^ * * * * 

"I remain, with great respect, your very 
hnmble servant, 

"John Taylor, 
"ist Col. New Jersey State Regiment. 
" His Excellency Gov'r Livingston." 
He and his .students were, more than once, 
obliged to decamp from New Brunswick 
owing to the proximity of the British forces. 
The New Jersey Gazette of Ma}^ 5, 1778, an- 
nounces that "The business of Queen's Col- 
lege in New Jersey, formerly carried on in 
New Brunswick, is begun at North Branch 
of Raritan, in the county of Somerset, in a. 
pleasant and retired neighborhood ; lodging 
and board to be had in decent families at ^30 
per annum. Apply to John Taylor, A. M., 
tutor at place aforesaid. ' ' Another notice in 
same paper of January 24, 1779, gives infor- 
mation that the "College is still carried on 
at the North Branch of Raritan, and that the 
neighborhood is so far di.stant from head- 
6 



/ 



quarters that the ami}- doevS not at least 
interfere with the business of the College." 
In 1780 John Taylor, as Clerk of the Facult}', 
announces that the vacation of Queen's Col- 
lege at Hillsboro (Millstone) is expired and 
the business again commenced. 

The affairs ot the College in the Revolution 
were carried on in an old church built of logs, 
with a frame addition, which stood near the 
junction of the North and South Branches of 
the Raritan river, in Branchburg towmship, 
Somerset count}', on land now belonging to 
Mr. John Vosseller, and nearly opposite his 
residence. It was built in 1718 and com- 
pleted the following 3'ear. It was known as 
the North Branch Church. The Rev. Theo- 
dorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen preached the 
first sermon in it, February 21, 1720. It w^as 
yet standing at the time of the Revolution, 
in a partially dilapidated condition, but suf- 
ficienth' uninjured to be used for a short 
time in the exigency then impending. The 
number of students during the war w^as not 
7 



large, and the curriculum, pre.su mabh', was 
somewhat curtailed. 

In 1 79 1 Col. John Taylor removed to Eliza- 
bethtown and engaged in teaching the Greek 
and Latin languages together with Natural 
Philosophy. In 1794 he was called to teach 
in the Academy at Schenectady, N. Y., which 
afterwards developed to Union College. He 
remained there as Professor of Mathematics 
and Natural Philosophy until his death, 
which occurred November 8, 180 1. 



Col. John Taylor, of Hunterdon, 

Was born at Bath, England. Of the date of 
his birth or immigration to this country 
we have no means of ascertaining. He 
married Lydia Kar, and settled on a tract 
of 400 acres of land situated on the Rocka- 
way creek, between New Germantown and 
White House. There was a mill on the 
8 



propert}', known from about 1760 to '80 avS 
Ta3ior's Mill ; afterwards as Saxon's ; and 
owned now by Mr. John Lane. 

They had three children : Nathaniel Kar 
Taylor, Catharine Kar Taj'lor, and Lydia 
Kar Taylor. 

Nathaniel Kar Taylor was born in Read- 
ington, June 21, 1769. He w^ent from home 
as a clerk in a store at White House ; and 
from there to Aniboy as clerk for Marsh & 
Parker, shippers in the West India trade. 
He was married, March 26, 1802, to Mar3^ 
daughter of William Cool and Sarah his 
wife. They were married at Readington by 
Rev. Peter O. Studiford. He died at Wood- 
bridge, Middlesex county, August 28, 1823, 
and was interred at Metuchen. His wife, 
Mary Cool, was born in Readington, May 
14, 1777. She died in New York, April 12, 
1823. 

Catharine, daughter of Col. John and 
Lydia Kar Taylor, married, 1784, Rev. Wil- 
liam Boyd, who was pastor of the Lamington 
9 



PrevSbyterian Church, Somenset count j', from 
October 20, 1784, to the time of his death, 
May 17, 1807. They had several children. 

Nathaniel K. and Mary (Cool) Taylor had 
six children : William Cool Taylor, born 
January 16, 1803 ; died in Rio Janeiro, March 
8, 1S42 ; Lydia Kar Taylor, born Januar}' 22, 
1805 ; married Aaron Bloodgood, December 
12, 1822 ; died at Perth Amboy, October 8, 
1837 ; Sarah Ann Taylor, born November 3, 
1807 ; married to Wm. Savidge ; died in New 
York, May 13, i860 ; John Taylor, born De- 
cember 16, 1809 ; died in New York, January 
23, 1848; Catharine Taylor, born April 11, 
181 2 ; married William LaForge, of Wood- 
bridge, 1832 ; died at Perth Amboy, Decem- 
ber I, 1868 ; Nathaniel Taylor, born Novem- 
ber 4, 1814 ; went on a voyage at sea and 
never returned. 

Under the several acts of the Colonial 

Legislature and the Continental Congress in 

1775 and '76 four Regiments of Militia were 

organized in Hunterdon county. The Fourth 

10 



Regiment was under command of Col. John 
Mehelm. John Taylor was chosen Captain 
of one of its companies ; October 28, 1775, 
he was promoted to the rank of Second 
Major ; November 27, 1776, he was made a 
Major in Col. Read's battalion, State troops ; 
February 17, 1777, Lieut. Colonel in Fourth 
Hunterdon Regiment ; and May 2t,, ^777, 
Colonel of the last named Regiment. {See 
Adj. Gen. Stryker's Officers and Men of New 
Jersey in the Revolution, pp. 343 and 356.) 

Of his personal military services w^e have 
no particular data. The patriots of the Rev- 
olution were, for the most part, too actively 
engaged in making history to find time to 
write it. It is well known that the New 
Jersey militia took a very creditable part in 
the engagements at Quinton's Bridge, Han- 
cock's Bridge, Three Rivers and Connecticut 
Farms ; and rendered important service in 
the sanguinary battles of Trenton, Princeton, 
Germantown, Springfield and Monmouth. 

William P. Sutphin, of Bedminster, Som- 
11 



erset count}', who is well informed as to the 
earl}' hivStory of his section, states that Col. 
Taylor was piomoted to the rank of General 
in the militia after the war. 

The latter years of this old patriot's life 
were clouded by financial embarrassment. 
With too much generosity he became one of 
the bondsmen for Count}' Collector, Jo.shua 
Corshon, who was a defaulter to the amount 
of ^3,121, SI I, d6. This, with the deprecia- 
tion of the Continental currency and shrink- 
age in values, absorbed his estate. He was 
prosecuted in the Supreme Court in an action 
for debt, confessed judgment, execution was 
issued and Sheriff Jacob Anderson " Levied 
on Eight Horses twelve Cattle Twenty 
Sheep one old Negro Man two wenches & 
three Negro Children Viz two Boys & one 
Girl one Eight Day Clock one Desk two 
Tables Six Chairs two Beds and Bedding four 
Hundred Acres of Land where Sd. Taylor 
lives part in Tewksberry & part in Reading- 
town." {Sheriff Anderson'' s Docket, p. jg.) 
12 



" C. C. C. & Confined the Genl. in Fleming- 
ton Goal on the 29th September 1795 & 31st 
October the Genl. went out of Goal." {Sheriff 
Anderso?i' s Docket, p. 9^.) 

In civilized countries heroes and patriots 
have often been distinguished and honored 
and their memory embalmed in classic eulo- 
gy. Such was not the award of this veteran 
officer. After suffering a faithful vSoldier's 
hardships, privations and risk of life in his 
country's struggle for independence, he was 
incarcerated in the county prison thirty-one 
days for the misfortune of pecuniar}^ insolv- 
ency. 

The date of his death and place of inter- 
ment we have failed to ascertain. 



Hunterdon Historical Series, 



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No. 1.— THE FLEMING-TON COPPER MINES, 
by Elias VosseUei\ 

No. -J. -THE TWO COLONELS JOHN TAYLOK, 
by Henry Race, M. D. 



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